The Satisfaction Quarterly Report, Q2 2008

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) just released its Q2 2008 report that covers the following sectors: Internet news & information, portals & search engines, automotive, electronics, major appliances, and personal computers. As I mentioned in a previous post about the ACSI, it’s a great research effort that doesn’t gets enough visibility.

While it’s interesting to look at the data, I also like to read the commentary by Professor Claes Fornell who puts the customer satisfaction results in context of the overall economy. Here’s an excerpt from his Q2 2008 comments:

Future consumption growth is impeded by many factors, chief among them house-price deflation (which has trimmed household wealth), tougher credit conditions, a worsening labor market, and continued high fuel and food prices… Under these circumstances, even if customer satisfaction were rising, it would be difficult to offset pocketbook limitations. But since ACSI shows no aggregate growth, the outlook for more aggregate spending growth continues to be bleak… The ACSI forecast suggests a third quarter spending growth of no more than 2.3% and the economy will continue to struggle… But all is not doom and gloom. E-business and technology lead the way. Customer satisfaction for e-business is up by almost 6%.

The bottom line: Satisfaction may be down, but Apple and Google are doing something right

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I am a customer experience transformist, helping large organizations improve business results by changing how they deal with customers. As part of this focus, I examine strategy, culture, interaction design, customer service, branding and leadership practices. I am also a fanatical student of business, so this blog provides an outlet for sharing insights from my ongoing educational journey.
Simply put, I am passionate about spotting emerging best practices and helping companies master them. And, as many people know, I love to speak about these topics in almost any forum.
My “title” is Managing Partner of the Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting firm that helps organizations become more customer-centric. Our goal is simple: accelerate the path to delighting customers.
I am also the co-founder and Emeritus Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the success of CX professionals.